Postings to keep friends and family informed about my dealing with CLL and Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma (SLL). Sometimes informational, sometimes random thoughts, and perhaps, sometimes just ranting.
PLEASE DO NOT take anything I write as medical advice for yourself. I am NOT a doctor and do not play one on TV!

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Light The Night Walk

Light The Night Walk is one of the major fundraisers that the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) has each year at many locations around the country. This year's local walk is at the Dell Diamond on October 28, 2006.

I walked for the first time last year and was able to raise over $2600 with the support of my fantastic family, friends and co-workers. The LLS supports patients and families of those who are battling various forms of blood cancers - leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. They help fund all kinds of research to find a cure for these diseases. Seventy five percent of the money raised goes directly to patient support and research. Local chapters have paid staff and many volunteers.

This year my wife, daughters, and I have formed a team and will walk as the Wagner Family Team. Supporters carry red balloons and survivors carry white balloons. The local society asked me to be one of their Honored Patients this year. They were looking for someone in each age category and I guess I fill the bill for the the old guy category. Most individuals who are walking and raising funds do so in memory of or in honor of someone they know who either died from a blood cancer or who is surviving from blood cancer. However, there are many corporate and school teams walking who do not know anyone, so the "Honored Patients" help put a face to the disease.

Some of you who are reading this will be getting an email from me in the next week or two asking for your support again this year. However, I would be honored if anyone reading this would like to support me in my efforts. If you are not able to donate, I certainly understand. I would ask that you provide prayer support, if you are so inclined. Together we might be able to help researchers find a cure! Research takes money and that is why I am doing this. There are many clinical trials taking place with new treatment options that weren't available to my dad just a few short years ago. Fortunately the type of leukemia I have is very slow and I hold out the faith and hope that a cure will be found in time that I and many of my cyber friends at acor.org and cllforum.com who are fighting this disease will benefit from that discovery.

Cindy's isn't quite set up yet, but it will be soon and I will edit this post and post it then.

Just to let you know, I am feeling really well. I went to my primary care doctor this week for refills of my regular medications. He did a CBC, which he never had done before and my results were terrific! WBC 5.0, RBC 4.52, Hemoglobin 15.2, etc., etc. Everything but platelets were in the normal range and they weren't bad at all at 128. He always checks my cholesterol, blood sugar and liver enzymes. My cholesterol was the best ever - 133. Triglycerides were 79, a personal best. Three years ago they were hanging out in the 600 range, ouch! For the first time ever the good cholesterol, HDL, was in the normal range, 40. Miraculously, and I don't understand how it could be, but my A1C (3 month blood sugar test) was 5.2, well within the normal range of 4.0 - 6.0.

So, as I told the folks over at www.cllforum.com, I think I found the cure. A nice, relaxing cruise!!! Now, if we can just get funding for some clinical trials. Maybe I will contact the LLS. I think Hawaii just might bring my platelets up!

3 comments:

Loren
said...

Hi John,Thanks for the information about Light the Night. I am posting the links on my blog if that is ok. I am not in a position to help you financially right now, but you and all the others at CLLForum are in my prayers always.

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About Me

I retired Sept 1, 2007, after 40 years of Federal, County, and State government work. I joined the USAF in Feb. 1967, where I was a Russian Linguist and then a trainer at Goodfellow Air Force Base. I rose to the rank of CMSgt (E-9). After retiring from the Air Force in Jan. 1991, I worked at a court residential treatment center in San Angelo, TX, and then became a probation officer. Moved to Round Rock, a suburb of Austin, in 1996, where I trained probation officers for the TX Department of Criminal Justice. I escaped, er, transfered to the state health department in 2002 and began training Risk Reduction Specialists who work with people who are at risk for HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis and other sexually transmitted diseases.
I married Cheryl Redfield 12/23/67. We have two daughters, Cheri and Cindy, and five grandkids -- two from Cheri -- Jimmy and Holly, and three from Cindy --Jonathan, Gavin, and Jackson. One great grandson from Jonathan -- River. We also adopted one of my wife's brothers, Ronnie, when he was 14 and he now has a daughter and two grandkids.
I am a Christian and a member of Crosspoint Baptist church, Whitesboro, NY.